Elizabeth Morgan | Canada/CARICOM Summit: Outcomes on trade and investment

The main outcome from the Canada/CARICOM Summit held last week under the theme ‘Strategic Partners for a Resilient Future’ was the launch of the Canada/CARICOM Strategic Partnership.

The communiqué states that the leaders launched a strategic partnership establishing a new permanent mechanism for structured high-level engagement and follow through on joint actions. The focus was on climate change, finance, regional and global security, and trade and investment. In this article, I am focusing on trade and investment.

In my article on the summit last week, I omitted to mention that the Canadian International Trade Minister, Mary Ng, visited the region, Guyana and Jamaica, in April 2022 to explore possibilities for increasing trade. In this regard, I refer to my article of April 27, 2022 titled ‘Canada/CARICOM Relations: Making increased trade and investment a reality’. Mary Ng participated in this summit which included a trade and investment round-table with Canadian investors.

On trade and investment, the communiqué states:

“… leaders shared their perspectives on growth opportunities in the region to deepen commercial ties between Canada and CARICOM. CARICOM leaders welcomed Canada’s expansion of the Commonwealth Caribbean Countries Tariff program (CCCT), which gives countries in the region duty-free trade access to the Canadian market, to include textiles and apparel, as well as a new foreign labour program for agriculture and fish processing under the Temporary Foreign Workers Program. Shared priority sectors outlined for trade and investment included agriculture, renewable energy and infrastructure. Leaders also offered insights on addressing ongoing supply chain issues; increasing the movement of people, goods, and investments; facilitating educational exchanges; and critical development needs. They emphasized the importance of engaging Caribbean diaspora communities in Canada to build strong and sustainable economies.”

POSITIVE DEVELOPMENT

This is a positive development from the summit, especially as the strategic partnership will see established meetings of the ministers responsible for trade and investment. This should involve the private sector. It is not clear whether this proposal envisages the re-establishment of the Joint Trade and Economic Committee (JTEC).

Implementing this outcome from the summit will require a meeting with the private sector to determine what can be realistically implemented and I would think the sectors of focus should be agriculture, renewable energy and infrastructure as well as technology. Such a meeting should be scheduled for 2024 in order not to lose the momentum.

I would hope that Canadian investors were informed of and invited to attend Caribbean Export’s Caribbean Investment Forum, themed ‘A bold new Caribbean’, which started in The Bahamas on Monday, October 23. This forum will be looking at development and investment possibilities in agricultural technology, green economy transition, information communication and technology (ICT), logistics and shipping.

I also hope Canada will be participating in other trade and investment events in the region, and that CARICOM countries and private sector will be attending trade and investment events in Canada. Jamaica’s Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce, Aubyn Hill, led a delegation to Canada in June/July and a delegation from Jamaica’s ICT sector also participated in the Collision ICT Conference in Toronto in June.

TEXTILES AND CLOTHING

Under CARIBCAN, which Canada calls the Commonwealth Caribbean Countries Tariff, Canada is removing textiles and clothing from its duty-free exemption list. This means that CARICOM countries, which benefit under CARIBCAN, will now be able to export textiles and clothing into Canada duty-free. The question is, is textiles and clothing a viable sector in the CARICOM region? As far as I am aware, only Haiti is a significant producer of textiles and clothing, which is mainly exported to the USA.

Figures from the Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN) indicate that recent exports of textiles and clothing from Jamaica into Canada is insignificant. From the 1980s, Jamaica and Canada had a bilateral textiles and clothing agreement. With the adoption of the WTO Agreement on Textiles and Clothing (ending quotas) and the North American Free Trade Agreement (giving duty-free access to Mexico) in the 1990s, foreign investors in textiles and clothing saw Jamaica and other CARICOM countries as uncompetitive. They moved to Mexico and other countries in Latin America and Asia. Note that Canada has comprehensive free trade agreements with countries in Latin America and Asia. The high cost of production would make products from Jamaica uncompetitive in the Canadian market. The textiles and clothing industry in Jamaica has shrunk.

My article of August 9, titled ‘Benefiting from Brand Jamaica: by importing Jamaica-themed souvenirs/products?’, shows that Jamaica is importing large quantities of textiles and clothing from China, India and other countries.

I would think that it would take considerable investments to revive the textiles and clothing industry in Jamaica and make exports to Canada under CARIBCAN viable. However, it is up to CARICOM and other private sectors to say whether they see opportunities in this announcement from the Canadian Government.

Expanding the Temporary Foreign Workers Programmes falls under the ministries of Labour. The details of this expansion would come from them and the Canadians.

I look forward to seeing reactions from the Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce, Jamaica Promotions Limited (JAMPRO), and, particularly, the private sector organisations, local and regional, about these trade and investment proposals from the Canada/CARICOM Summit.

CARICOM diplomatic representatives in Canada also have a lot of work to do in the follow-up with the Canadian government (global affairs), the private sector and the diaspora.

Elizabeth Morgan is a specialist in international trade policy and international politics. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com